New Delhi, May 9 (H.S.): India's star javelin thrower and two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra will participate in the Golden Spike Athletics Meet scheduled to be held on June 24 this year in the city of Ostrava, Czech Republic. He had previously withdrawn from the editions in 2023 and 2024 due to injuries, but this time he will try his luck for the third time.

Having missed two competitions, he will now showcase his talent in his coach's home country

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra could not participate in this prestigious tournament for the past two years; however, he was present there as a special guest in 2024. This time the competition will be special as it will be held on the home ground of his legendary coach and former world champion Jan Železný. Železný is also the director of this tournament.

Neeraj expressed his excitement in an official statement on Thursday, saying, I am excited to announce that I will participate in the Golden Spike Meet in Ostrava this year. It is a historical competition, and this time it will be even more special. My coach Jan Železný has won here multiple times, and now he is also the tournament director.

The Golden Spike Meet has been held since 1961 and is a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold label event, recognized as the second most important series in the world after the Diamond League. This time, Neeraj will compete against top athletes like Jakub Vadlejch, the silver medalist from the 2020 Olympics from the Czech Republic.

Neeraj will compete in two major events before the Golden Spike

Before the Golden Spike, Neeraj will be seen in the Doha Diamond League on May 16 and in the first 'Neeraj Chopra Classic' in Bengaluru on May 24. He has withdrawn from the Asian Athletics Championship scheduled to take place in Gumi, South Korea, from May 27 to 31.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar